Quote:
Originally Posted by Jdawgboy
Highland Mall is not a desirable location IMO for the Medical school its not big enough. I don't see why it would be an issue for the Brakenridge location as I said surroundings do play a part in healing people. Of course not everybody would consider that a real reason but IMO it is important. If I had to go to a hospital in the Medical school I would hope its in a nice location and that is as nice as you can get for any part of Austin with great views. Plus it really has the best acreage for the location.
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Also, Highland Mall is a bad location for a hospital in general. You've got Dell's Children, Austin State, Seton, St. David's, and University all within a five mile distance. The Brackenridge tract is in an area that, oddly (given its affluence), does not have a hospital nearby. Putting it in the Domain would also not make sense given the proximity to North Austin Med and Seton Northwest. It isn't going to go into the Mueller Development as that redevelopment is already under way and I can't see them changing anything this late in the ballgame. There also isn't any available centralized land south of the river which would lend itself to an urban-esque campus (assuming that the university wants the campus to be urban, which is a good assumption).
If the goal is to keep the hospital central, while trying to serve an underserved area (which would just be smart, imo), then they'll either go with the Brackenridge tract (which they've been angling to redevelop for years) or buy up industrial land en masse east of I-35 (perhaps, as an example, the area bounded by Bolm, Airport, and 183). Which is going to be easier for the University: developing land they already own by integrating the hospital and associated facilities into preexisting redevelopment plans or spending money to buy land in a politically and socioeconomically sensitive community already subject to enough gentrification pressures?
I would, on the flip side, also not be surprised if the University decided to develop land south of the river on East Riverside in coordination with Austin's rail line and the city's push for denser development along that corridor. However, the same political issues plague that area. It also doesn't seem likely that that area will ever develop at the level of density Austin's elite desire, which could disqualify it as a good option ... and much of the land that looks ripe for the level of density desired already have development projects in the pipeline (I.E. the closer to 35, the more likely to be developed by someone in the private market).